December 08, 2012

I feel free

(image taken at church a few years ago)

Christmas has been a season of guilt for me for years. A few days ago I spent some time praying and trying to reason out why. And it came to me.

I have been a "Christian" for a long time. But my heart has not always been turned towards Jesus at Christmas. I have a list a mile long of things I want. I love to shop for my children. I focus on decorating my home. I get busy. I get stressed. Someone gets sick. The rest of us get sick. We go to church on Christmas Eve and my heart is restless. Christmas morning is all about gifts. The Christmas story easily gets lost. And when it is all over, I wonder what went wrong. What is wrong is that I have checked Jesus at the curb and gone ahead in my own plan for the month.

So a few days ago I decided to put a stop to the madness. I was desperate for a change of focus.

I talked to my husband and we decided that we would not purchase gifts for each other outside of our stockings. We pooled the money we normally spend on each other and gave it to a family who continually serves needy children.

I felt free.

Then we talked about our children. We put a limit on the gifts. They will get a large gift from us. That is it. They will receive a couple of things from Santa (yes, we love Santa in our home - the story behind St. Nick is lovely). But gone are the days of too many gifts, too much stuff.

I felt free.

Then we talked about serving others and the kids immediatly jumped at the idea of buying toys for children in need and praying for those children.

I felt free

I looked at my home. The decor reminded me that Jesus is the light of the world and celebrating His birthday to the full brings peace to my heart. In Him there is no darkness.

I felt free.

I am not sure why it has taken me 35 years to get to this point but I am glad I have arrived. I look forward, God willing, to next year, when I can get myself right before the season begins.

Good for you! In our home, we do three gifts for the kids (and Santa--we do Santa as well). The large gift is actually usually Santa and then the three are JOY gifts. One gift that reminds you of Jesus, one to share with Others, and one just for You. The JOY gifts are usually the smaller gifts--but this is how we keep the focus on Jesus, away from consumerism and keep gift giving/getting under control. Also, a lovely way to involve your kids in the giving is to bring them shopping for an adopt-a-family. We also have them do a big toy cleanout before the holidays and donate things, including items that are a sacrifice for them, not just old, unwanted items. My son calls it "sharing away." :-)